Christmas Giveaway Winners

It's been a rather hectic day. I achieved a lot, preparing for a last minute trip, but I also FORGOT about the giveaway. Sorry!

So, what I did was get all the names down and clicked ONCE. This is the list that resulted.

Congratulations to those who won and for those who didn't, please look out for the next giveaway soon, for the Chinese New Year.

Have a blessed evening.

Octuplets

This is the first one. Seven more in various stages of completion. Made from fabrics that I just bought from Chinatown yesterday. First Sevenberry fabric (the navy gingham) that I bought and I like it!

Fully lined drawstring pouch that can be used for gift-wrapping this Christmas or for any other use.

Have a blessed day!

ps: all 8 of these have slight differences...

Is the grass really greener?

If you scroll down a bit, you'll see the other side of this tote. The pasta one. Pasta and cheese.

I used to take multiple views of one item and collage them. Then I realised that the pics were too small and just took one but this tote has a different front/back so it merits another post.

:-)

I don't have an iPhone

I don't think I'll get one, simply because I prefer a larger screen.

Made this cellphone sleeve from cotton linen. That is becoming the fabric of choice recently. I like it's texture. If you remember the red bus tote? That has the nicest texture I've come across for this fabric, even nicer than Nesshome! 

Have a blessed morning!

I would like some Carbonara, please?

DS does a mean Carbonara. He likes it with the Fairprice back bacon (less fat) and San Remo vegeroni spirals. I like it when DS prepares it, I just don't like the mess after, LOL!

Nesshome print (pasta and cheese). I didn't take a pic of the cheese. DS chose it to go with the pasta. Fully lined with panel of pockets inside. Double handles again. I'm starting to like double handles though it means I have to restock my webbing soon.

Have a blessed morning!

DEAR season again!

16 Nov 2013 to 31 Jan 2014

It's that time of the year again when you can Drop Everything And Read. During this DEAR season, you can borrow double the number of books. What best to make than a library bag :-)

Fully lined and reversible (other side is red and white stripes) and made from cotton linen. I've included both shoulder and hand cary handles. There are no pockets for this because it's difficult to stuff books into a bag and pockets get in the way. Instead, there's a little D-ring near the handles that I can use to hook on a wristlet or keys or whatever. Fun!

Have a blessed morning!

Been rather busy recently....

Yup, I'm still here though things have been rather quiet at the crafting front recently. Made 3 pencil cases out of really pretty cotton-linen fabric that I sourced from a new supplier.

This is a digital print. Cute one at that. Printed on cotton-linen. Paired it with turquoise and white polka dot fabric behind and lined with even more cotton-linen inside. This is a large pencil case. Gigantic.

 

I like this print. Finnish design printed on cotton-linen. I have only a small piece and this is half of it. The other half I made into a similar pencil case (not shown here). The back is also the turquoise and white polka dots and the lining similar to the Fun swimming pool one.  

Made this planner for myself.

I covered the 900gsm greyboard with kraft paper from a paper bag from this gelato outlet that DS and DD like. They like hazelnut and mango, I like rocher. I have monthly views and quarterly views, plain white and colour pages for notes.

Have a blessed day!

Sewing books

First I made the books.

These are saddle-stitched books with cardstock and unlined paper. I have so many shades of green, blue and pink left and even more cardstock.

Then I made the drawstring bag to put the books in. 

Then I made a larger book with a fabric over the cardboard and decided that it'll have it's own drawstring bag. 

What a lot of fun :-)

Have a blessed day!

Drawing to a close...not

Made this for DD who has to bring extra stuff to school - apron / PE attire etc. This is fully-lined for a change, partially 'cos the cotton print is thinner than usual. I used the foldover label and DD said this looks 'professional' for a change. ;-)

Professional handmade. Odd.

Have a blessed day!

Journal de Paris

This has a very zakka feel to it. I like its simple and retro look, made out of Japanese cotton/linen. Lots of pockets inside (4 plus 2 pen slips). I wasn't sure what to make of this when I bought it 'cos the Journal de Paris print is rather wide, too wide/narrow for a clutch. I decided to add a bit more colour and expand the width so that this is a wraparound print. 'Twas a bit troublesome to switch between oatmeal and red thread to top-stitch but I'm glad I went through that effort :-)

Have a blessed day!

May the force be with you

During the free Spoonflower fat quarter promotion last year, DS chose this print. He likes the kiddy Star Wars print. It's not an allover print, just a strip across the bottom. There are 8 8" squares with different characters of the movie. I've not figured out yet what to make out of them, maybe a cushion cover?

This is a dual zip pencil case. I managed to find 2 star zipper pulls. Zip was from Daiso, the 1m long one. The star zipper pulls too, but they were on another colour zip. Since the Star Wars print is rather narrow, it'd be a rather 'narrow' pencil case but I decided to 'bump' it up and add the denim. 'Tis a bit more rugged, no? DS chose the lining, a Japanese cotton geometric print in beige and brown. He also asked for a D-ring though I don't know what he's going to put there.

This pic is not the latest.

I studded DS' name with 3cm studs. That's a lot of tiny claws for me to fold in but DS likes the effect.

Have a blessed day!

When you wish upon a star

I've had this Japanese Disney print for a while, intending to make it into a new clutch for DD. Problem was, it's cotton/linen and I didn't want to use interfacing to stiffen it. DD suggested using the thick canvas I have. One whole bale of it (read, expensive shipping). It's a nice ivory colour with flecks of black and brown. Adds to its character, I think.

DD requested for a pocket and I thought I'd add a zippered one for a change. I didn't put the pocket behind 'cos this clutch is meant for putting papers and I didn't want the papers to be warped with the contents of the pocket so the pocket is on top of the stack, under the flap.

There's Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, Thinkbell and Bambi and Thumper.

Nice!

Have a blessed day!

Back to school

T'was a long CNY break, wasn't it? :-)

Made these before and during the break. The studs are those with the claws, not the iron on type. Each stud has 4 claws and I used many here :-( Wasn't easy bending the claws back. The journal was fun. This was done without the end-pages that's why there's only a single line out on the cover at each hole. I think the next time I do this I'll use double. Or maybe I'll just stick to end-pages.

Have a blessed day!

DEAR season

I like this time of the year, it's DEAR season :-)

Drop Everything And Read is on (has been on) till 31 Jan 2013 and you can borrow twice the usual number of books.

I used to lug DS' and DD's books till I told them that if they want to read, they'll have to carry their own books. Grin! Thing is, it's cold and wet weather here so I'll bring a jacket and brolly when I go out and with the extra books, I need a large enough bag to hold everything. Actually, this is my excuse. I've made many bags but I wanted one for myself and when I saw this cotton-linen blend in a retro print, I made one :-)

Have a blessed day!

ps: Library's closed today 'cos it's a public holiday but it'll be open tomorrow :-)

pps: If you have a Passion Card, please go activate your free premium membership. More books!

Colour combinations

I didn't think these would go together but these 2 colours were what DD requested. Six braided green and brown. After braiding it like that (3 consecutive green, 3 consecutive brown), it seems quite pleasant. I might try another that is green, brown alternates. I might try an 8-braid, or a 10? I think it's the same method as the 6. I'll need to find the corresponding ribbon ends first though.

 

Remember the top-most gift bag? I used it for the tutorial. Made some more out of Christmas colours. 

Would you have guessed that all these came from a single piece of cloth? It's those 'cheater' patchwork types. The sizes are just nice for these 27mm buttons. Dual loops elastic hair ties.

I just remembered that I'm supposed to update the Pre-Christmas Sale 2012 page with these than post here.

Oh well.

Have a blessed day!

Go green this Christmas

Go green this Christmas and make your own gift bag rather than use wrapping paper that will be ripped and thrown away.

Anyway, if you haven't noticed how I make stuff by now, I'm winging this. That's why there are no specific measurements. This also means that you can make it any size you like as long as you know the ratios and what to look out for.

Material

• 4 pieces of fabric - outer (1pc), lining (pc), top (2pcs) - the outer and lining are large rectangles, twice the size of your final bag when you fold breadthwise, meaning breadth meets breadth and length is halved. The top parts are as long as when the outer is folded half, as wide as 4 times the cords / ribbons you're going to use. Please remember to include sufficient allowance for sewing.
• cord or ribbon for drawstring top
• bells, charms (optional)
• label (optional)

Method

1. Prepare the materials above
2. Fold in the breadths of the top pieces and sew near the edge. This is so that the ends won't fray. See yellow arrow.
3. Take the lining and fold half breadthwise (breadth meets breadth) and crease it along the length. See red arrow. Fold both top pieces into half lengthwise (length meets length) and place them along the edge of the lining, one on each side of the half where you just creased. All frayed edges need to be aligned.
4. Place the outer piece on top so that you have a sandwich. Bottom - lining, middle - top piece folded half lengthwise, top - outer piece. Sew along the frayed edge of this 'sandwich'.
5. Open the 'sandwich' and top-stitch near the edge. See red arrow. You may wish to add a label at this time.
6. If you want squared off corners, open them up and fold them 45-degrees across. Think tetra packs or milk cartons. Same concept. Trim off the excess. See red arrow.
7. Fold the whole thing such that the outer is folded half on itself, and ditto the lining. Sew round the 3 edges. Remember to leave an opening for turning. Trim the part where the outer and lining meets. See red arrow.
8. Turn it proper way out and sew the hole closed. Cut 2 pieces of cord or ribbon. These will be longer than the length of the outer or lining. Thread one through one of the top pieces and out  the other and knot it. Thread the other through the other end and knot it. Add charms or bells, if you like.

Have fun!

Simple florals

This is my last piece of PU leather and snap. I've bought more but it takes so long to arrive that I'm wondering if I'll try to make my own. But that means I'll have to do the snaps myself and the tool for my snaps have yet to arrive, LOL!

Cellphone sleeve made from the Cath Kidston lookalike material. It's a bit like oilcloth, or maybe it really is. Just reminds me of that 'cos of the prints and texture. Lined this with super soft dimpled microfibre. I was thinking of saying that it's large enough to fit DD's Samsung Galaxy Ace but it seems lots of phones are getting larger. To think that someone once laughed at my Nokia e61i.

Have a blessed day!

Ring, ring!

I forgot to blog about this.

Sometimes I blog first, sometimes I post on Facebook first. For this cellphone pouch, I posted it on Facebook and clean forgot to blog about it here, LOL!

I received a pack of cotton linen recently and this piece was large enough for a cellphone pouch so I decided to make one. It's Hansel and Gretel's candy house. I machine-quilted it and added a leather mounted snap. You can't see from this pic but the inside is white polka dots on green.

Have a blessed day!

Dizzying stripes

Two denim totes for DD and me. DS doesn't like stripes.

These are large enough to put A4 files in and with the many pockets (2 large ones in front, 2 large ones back, panel inside), we can carry many stuff around. DD prefer to carry hers without the detachable strap. I prefer mine attached 'cos sometimes I use the over the shoulder straps, sometimes I use the longer one.

I think I'll make more of these if I can find the right thick fabric - canvas or denim. I wonder if oxford will work as well?

Some other design considerations:

flap covers for the outside pockets with the snaps on the flaps

swivel hook on the inside to snap on key rings

zipper pocket

shorter handles for handcarry

zipper closure for main body

Have a blessed day!

What's your favourite colour?

I like yellow, DS likes red and DD likes green.

I paired this yellow canvas with a brown one so that the dirt doesn't show up so easily when placed on the floor. There are two big pockets in front and two at the back. One panel of pockets inside means lots of compartments to put all your stuff :-)

I was a bit hesitant to use silver rivets and snaps 'cos I thought brass ones would be nicer but I only had silver hardware for the strap so that determined the colour. Turned out rather well, IMHO. :-)

Have a blessed day!